Melamine as a white board?

[guyerst]

I've been working on reorganizing the garage. Took down all the pegboard paneling and replaced with osb. Currently I'm working on building a couple small cabinates on the wall for tool storage so I can free up the floor space the tool box was taking.

I want to put up some dry erase boards to write notes on (last oil change date / mileage, bolt sizes for frequent tasks, etc.). At first I was going to face the cabinet doors with some remaining osb and attach a white board to that. But now I'm wondering if I can just face them with melamine. I want something that I can drill into and hang some more whatnots on the back side of the door. Melamine isn't ideal for that, but I'm thinking it'll be fine for driving a couple screws to hang some small levels, angle finders, and other odds and ends like that.

I'm wondering if anyone is using melamine as a dry erase board. I tested a small piece, and it seemed to erase ok. I'm not sure if it will continue to clean up over time, or will it turn into a black streaked mess eventually...

 

[Zeke]

I think if you use the right pen the melamine will stay clean and nice.

 

[Regnar]

Could use Melamine and then attach glass over the top. Then it wouldn't matter what marker you use.

 

[theundermount]

I think the dry erase markers you mentioned would work out fine on that type of substance

 

[JimVonBaden]

When I was a teacher I covered my chalk boards with Melamine and used them as dry erase boards. They work just fine. Just make sure you do not use a Sharpie on them. If you do, 90% will come off with alcohol.

 

[mad german]

I have several sheets of 11x17 white copy paper that were laminated. I use them as dry erase boards. They work great. I use small magnets to tack them to my toolboxes. I use the regular dry erase markers and haven't had any issues with them at all. They are very handy. I guess you could get larger sheets laminated at a copy center, but I did it at work and that's the largest sheet our machine could laminate.

 

[mad german]

When I was a teacher I covered my chalk boards with Melamine and used them as dry erase boards. They work just fine. Just make sure you do not use a Sharpie on them. If you do, 90% will come off with alcohol.

Also, writing over the Sharpie on a dry erase board with the dry erase markers and then wiping right away will remove Sharpie from the dry erase board.

 

[a52-830]

in a previous life, i made, oh, 20 "white boards" out 4X8 sheets of the stuff. used regular dry erase markers and erasers.

the only thing is that they tend to hold on to the marker a bit and get "dingy". you can get spray bottles of "dry erase cleaner" that solve the problem short term, but long term the small scratches and such tend to create a dingy appearance. this was no different, i would note, than what happened to the smaller white boards we bought from the office supply store.

if you decided to go the glass route, why not just paint the back of the glass white before you mount it? (and make sure it is safety glass)

 

[kbs2244]

The only thing I have found the affects it is acetone.
It wipes the white right off.

 

[ddawg16]

Melamine works....

But....

At HD they also have 1/8" thick sheets of hard board with a real smooth side like Melamine. You sometimes see the stuff used as backs of cabinets.

I bought some with the intent of making doors to cover my paint cabinet....then used them for something else. Need to buy more....

 

[Thorold]

Believe it or no Muskol removes even Sharpie from white boards. This is a piece of wisdom my son came back from the military with.

http://www.muskol.ca/170gr_aerosol.htm

 

[visiting guest]

try a sheet of 1/8 inch white masonite.
on the isle where the plastic water proof shower board panels is located .
at home depot.
less porous than melamine and more flexible.

..
a smaller sheet of Masonite
may be located/found
over where the pre cut sheets are.
but typically pre-cuts are very expensive.

 

[wssix99]

I'm not sure if it will continue to clean up over time, or will it turn into a black streaked mess eventually...

This concern is valid.

Most melamine is not good because it is slightly textured. You want a smooth surface. Yes, it will work, but you'll have to do a lot of cleaning to keep it from looking dirty all the time. (The dry erase material will gather along the ridges in the melamine.)

Check out some white thermofoil cabinets/doors. They are inexpensive, look like Melamine but are smooth and have the same particle board core. They will wipe right up.

 

[ddawg16]

try a sheet of 1/8 inch white masonite.
on the isle where the plastic water proof shower board panels is located .
at home depot.
less porous than melamine and more flexible.

..
a smaller sheet of Masonite
may be located/found
over where the pre cut sheets are.
but typically pre-cuts are very expensive.

That is the stuff I was talking about. Works *****'n

 

[glentre]

You might also glue on a piece of smooth white plastic laminate but if you do, also glue a piece on the back face or the back will pick up moisture while the front will not and the door will warp.

Glen

 

[Kevin54]

Melamine can work, but if you leave a dry erase mark on it for an extended period of time, some will stain. I've even had the normal white boards do that. BUT.....what you can do is keep it waxed. It lets the dry erase marker come right off. Also use the dry erase board cleaner that comes in a spritz bottle. It will clean a board better than a lot of other items.

 

[kart-racer]

I made the benches in my upstairs workshop out of Melamine. As others have said, if you leave the marker on too long it will leave a shadow, but I just use a little Simple Green on a cloth and it comes right off. I used melamine specifically to be able to mark on it. I have also used a spritz of brake clean on the more stubborn marks. I like the way it looks and cleans up. I also make all my upper cabinets in my garage out of melamine as well.

 

[racinfarmer]

Melamine can work, but if you leave a dry erase mark on it for an extended period of time, some will stain. I've even had the normal white boards do that. BUT.....what you can do is keep it waxed. It lets the dry erase marker come right off. Also use the dry erase board cleaner that comes in a spritz bottle. It will clean a board better than a lot of other items.

This is my experience as well.

 

[Lee Celtic]

Pretty much my plan too.. (great minds and all that) Melamine I think is old school.. but you can get Gloss faced 15mm MDF pretty much anywhere these days..comes with a peelable skin to protect it until your ready to use it, I've been using it for tool storage with a side effect of white boards when the cupboards are closed and it works great. I too wanted to build cupboards for tools to free up space and have a clean dust free shop..

Pic 1 half full of tools.
Pic 2 closed up and clean
Pic 3 ... the writings on the wall.. or the door..lol

and it all wipes off clean.

 

[zable9]

F.y.i. This article talks about this: http://lifehacker.com/cover-a-wall-with-a-giant-whiteboard-for-under-15-1587162959

Forgot this URL which has roll products:

http://mywhiteboards.com/optiritelight.html

 

[wssix99]

Melamine I think is old school..

Really???

 

[rharman]

Melamine works....

But....

At HD they also have 1/8" thick sheets of hard board with a real smooth side like Melamine. You sometimes see the stuff used as backs of cabinets.

I bought some with the intent of making doors to cover my paint cabinet....then used them for something else. Need to buy more....

If this is what I think it is, that's a good choice.

Also, wax it occasionally with something pure like Johnson Paste Wax. Makes a world of difference.

 

[TedU]

Formica actually makes a markerboard laminate....
http://www.formica.com/en/us/products/markerboard#swatchesTab

I tried to find somewhere to purchase it for a workbench top but gave up in frustration.

 

[ez-duzit]

If you use a laminate you must pre-drill anywhere you want to run a screw, or the laminate will become de-bonded and create a pucker.

 

[Lee Celtic]

Really???

Yup.. here we don't use chalkboards anymore.. we have interactive white boards..

 

[Ocho]

Pretty much my plan too.. (great minds and all that) Melamine I think is old school.. but you can get Gloss faced 15mm MDF pretty much anywhere these days..comes with a peelable skin to protect it until your ready to use it, I've been using it for tool storage with a side effect of white boards when the cupboards are closed and it works great. I too wanted to build cupboards for tools to free up space and have a clean dust free shop..

Pic 1 half full of tools.
Pic 2 closed up and clean
Pic 3 ... the writings on the wall.. or the door..lol

and it all wipes off clean.

Nicely done! Totally stealing this idea.